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The William Scott Abbott Trust

Since 1964, Sacrewell has been run as a charity by The William Scott Abbott Trust with the aim of connecting people of all ages and backgrounds to the science, heritage and practical art of agriculture. Providing an insight into the trail that leads from farm to fork.

The funds raised from your visit at Sacrewell are reinvested into the upkeep of the heritage buildings, the wellbeing of the livestock and supporting countryside education. There are three keys aims of The William Scott Abbott Trust that are as close to our hearts today at Sacrewell as they were at their conception.

Educating the Next Generation

Children pond dipping in stream. Education school visit undertaking a farming with nature workshop

School visits are increasingly popular at Sacrewell and our education team have been working with local schools to develop and extend our offering.

We try our best to accommodate any bespoke requests. Please email any requests and details to learning@sacrewell.org.uk

Farming with Nature

As an agricultural educational charity, we acknowledge that agriculture worldwide is facing one of its greatest challenges. The challenge to produce enough nutritional food to fulfil the needs of our growing population (set to rise to 9.5 bn by 2050), whilst simultaneously protecting our natural environment and human health.

Our ‘Farming with Nature‘ educational framework focuses on National Curriculum topics such as soil, plants, pollination, animals, field to fork, farm animals and wildlife. This enables us to rethink our food production system in a more circular way, “agroecology”.

Children discover the fascinating life in the soil, the power of plants, the buzz about bees (& all pollinators!) in growing our food. As well as how our rare breeds not only provide us with food and non-food products, but how they play an essential role in managing our land and ecosystem.

Pupils can enjoy field to fork experiences, tracing back the journey of their food through tractor tours of our tenants Riverford Organic Farm, or through seasonal foraging and cooking.

For more nurturing educational offering, we have our ‘Custodians of the Countryside’ environmental projects, which are carried out over a longer period. These provide children and young people with a real sense of purpose and contribution to larger- scale projects and maintenance at Sacrewell.

Forestry and Rural Skills

The William Scott Abbott Trust at Sacrewell is making very real connections between field and fork whilst celebrating our rural heritage.

Thanks to the support of the Heritage Craft Association, we now have a resident Blacksmith who has set up a forge in one of our Courtyard Workshops.

Dave the Blacksmith is in residence 5 days a week, offering demonstrations, workshops and taster sessions for our visitors.

Nene Coppicing and Crafts, located next door to the forge offer workshops and demonstrations throughout the year. Working with willow and green wood – which is grown on our land at Sacrewell.

2021 saw the launch of The Artisan Courtyard within the stables at Sacrewell. This has become a place for local Artisan Makers to work, create and sell their goods to our visitors. We are proud to work with the following independent businesses:

Our Tenant farmers, Riverford Organics, are keeping the tradition of The William Scott Abbott Trust at Sacrewell by making very real connections between field and fork whilst celebrating our rural heritage.

Record Keeping and Supporting Rare Breeds

larry our landrace pig a rare breed animal.

Record keeping and innovation is at the very core of The William Scott Abbott Trust. Allowing future generations to learn from successes and failed attempts alike!

We have a large archive of records that volunteers are helping file and store with the plan to display these in the near future within Sacrewell.

Recording keeping has allowed Sacrewell to support its rare breed programme. This allows the opportunity for visitors to see history in the making and learn about how farming and Sacrewell have evolved over the years.

The Rare Breed Survival Trust (RBST) was formed in 1973 with the aim of securing the future of rare and native breeds of farm livestock. Every year they collect data from breed societies and estimate the total number of breeding females and produce a watch list of endangered livestock breeds.

At Sacrewell our rare breeds include:

  • Suffolk Punch Horse
  • Landrace Pigs
  • Oxford and Sandy Black Pigs
  • Hill Radnor Sheep
  • Boreray Sheep
  • Orpington Chickens
  • English Goat